TEHRAN, Aug. 22 (MNA) – The leader of the National Wisdom Movement of Iraq has said Iraq should not remain silent about US Iran-related sanctions, calling on the Americans to change their policies against Iran.

Ammar al-Hakim made the remarks during Baghdad’s Eid al-Adha prayers, during which he also called for accelerating the formation of new Iraqi government.

According to the office of Iraqi National Wisdom Movement in Iran, in part of his speech, Hakim said that Iraq cannot remain silent about the increasing US sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Hakim criticized those who believe that some policies should not be announced because they might hurt your own country’s national interests, saying “today we live in world that is closely connected and a change in any parts of the globe affects other parts.”

"If the Islamic Republic of Iran is faced with problems and complicated issues due to its dealing with the United States, it would be hard to imagine that Iraq would not be affected by those problems,” the leader of the National Wisdom Movement of Iraq noted, adding that Iranians and Iraqis are closely interconnected both geographically and culturally.

He further stressed that Iraq should spare no efforts to pursue appropriate policies which provide a common ground that serve both Iran and the United States’ interests, which in turn serve peace and stability in the Middle East.

“Iraq cannot remain silent if economic sanctions against the Iranian people are increased,” Hakim said, emphasizing the negative impacts of economic sanctions against Iraq in the 1990s.

He described applying sanctions against nations as an ‘inhuman policy,’ warning against the impact of US Iran related sanctions on his own country.

“We reject the cruel economic sanctions against nations and do not allow the interests of our country to be endangered,” the Iraqi Shia politician noted, adding that in their meetings with the Americans they have bravely announced their stances on the sanctions.